Excavating-machine.



Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. PRONUVOST.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAII. 5, I9I3. IIEIIEWED APII. 20. I9I5.

l. PRONUVOS?.

EXCAV/WING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. l9l3. RENEWED APR. 20. 19|5. LWLBH., Patented. Nov. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

w "m4 M A- N 2D@ db* 1. PRONOVOST.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. I9I3. IIENEWED APR. 20. |915,

Lll?, Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W] NES E5 if Lw I J. PRONUVOST.

EXCAVAUNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAK. 5. |913. RENEWED APR. 20. |9154 19161933?, Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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ll ll lm" l ll JOSEPH PRONOVOST, OF HELENA, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-TENTH TO DAVID E. PRONOVOST AND TWO-TENTHS T0 N. P. SALVAIL, BOTH OF HELENA, MONTANA.

EXGAVATING-MAGHINE.

Application led March 5, 1913, Serial No. 752,242. Renewed April 20, 1915.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, JosnrH PRoNovosT, a citizen of the United States, residlng at llelena` in the county of Lewis and Clark and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Exca- \'atingl\lachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as wl'll enable others skilled in the art to whlch it appertainsto make and use the s ame, reference being had to the accompanylng drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marks thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in ditching and excavating apparatus and comprises a simple and .eilicient device of this nature having various details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

I illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, partly in section.. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in elevation of a part of the apparatus. Fig. 5 is a detail in elevation of the excavator scoop. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the details shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of the scoop or shovel. Fig. 8 is a detail in elevation of the upper portion of the tower. Fig. 9 is a sectional view through Fig. 8, showing parts in elevation. Fig. 10 is an elevation of the forward end of the boom showing the anchor ing device. Fig. 11 is a top plan View of Fig. 10, and Fig. 12 is a detail in section of a power transmission feature of the invention.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by numeral, 1 designates the truck of the apparatus mounted upon suitable wheels 2 and 3, the latter of which are adapted to be driven by belted connection with a counter shaft 4 which is driven by belted connection from the driving shaft 5, which in turn is driven by the engine 6 mounted upon the truck.

Pivotally mounted upon the pin 7 is a laterally and vertically swinging pivotal boom 8 having a rock shaft 9 journaled near Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov.. 23, 1915.

Serial No. 22,718.

the forward end thereof, as shown clearly in Figs. l0 and 11 of the drawings adapting the boom to swing vertically, and fixed to said rock shaft are the spur anchor members 10, held by means of set screws 11, and curved arms 12 are fixed to' said shaft and are adapted to be positioned in the path of the excavator bucket 13 when the same is drawn forward in a manner presently to be described for the purpose of rocking the shaft to throw the anchors out of the soil.

A cable 14 is fastened to an eye 15 upon the cross-piece 16 which is fastened to the end of the boom and passes about a pulley 17 at the upper end of the tower or mast 18. Said tower has a projecting member 18x thereon and is made up of two upright pieces, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, and is pivotally. mounted upon the pins 20, shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Said cable 14 winds about a drum 21 about which a friction band 22 is passed, one end of which band is fastened to the angle lever 23 and in turn pivotally connected through the rod 24 with the lever 25 to which an operatin handle 26 is connected. A weight 27 is astened to a rope 28 which winds about a. contracted portion 29 of the drum and serves to take up slack and keep the rope 14 taut. A second or hoisting cable, designated by numeral 30, is fastened to the outer end of the boom and passes about the pulley 31, thence to and about a winding drum 33 which is fixed to the shaft 5. The cable 30 passes about a pulley 34, journaled upon a shaft 35 mounted in the frame 36. as shown clearly in Fig. 5 of the drawings. It will be understood that the drum is allowed to revolve when the apparatus is being moved from place to place. the cable or rope rst being detached therefrom.

Rollers 37 are mounted upon the shaft 35, one upon either side of the yoke 38, as shown clearly in Fig. 6 of the drawings, said rollers 37 being adapted, when the excavator shovel or scoop is pulled forward, to contact with the curved arms 12 to cause the shaft 9 to rock to throw the anchors out of the ground, suitable guards 40 being adapted to guide the rollers so that they will come in contact with said curved arms 12. The frame 36 is pivotally connected to a shaft 41 connected to the arms 42, which are pivotally mounted upon the trunnions 43 projecting from the opposite sides of the scoop. A

suitable strut 42x connects the scoops with the frame 36, serving to hold the bucket in differentl adjusted positions. Said scoop has a plow 44 fastened to its lower end and adapted to scoop up the loosened soil and also a. sub-soil loosener or plow 45, having shank portions 46 which are bolted or otherwise secured to the scoop and which extend plan in Fig. 6, has ears 51 projecting therefrom, and 52 designates a depressable ,member having pivotal connection at 53 with the ears 51 and its lower end is fixed to a spring 54, shown clearly in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the ends of which spring engage the later` ally projecting lugs 55 upon said back. Saidlatch 50 engages a hole in the plate 57 and serves to normally hold the back closed.

Curved members 58 are fastened to the back, as shown clearly in Figs. 6 and 7, and serve as means to protect a scoop when the latter comes in contact with the ground when lowered and also as a means for throwing the hopper 60 laterally out of the way of the scoop as the latter is lowered and after the load has been dumped. Said hopper 60 is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 6l carried by the tower and its lower end normally engages the chute '62 in readiness for receiving the load as it is dumped from the scoop. Anti-friction rollers 68 are mounted at the angled ends of the hopper which are adapt-- ed to contact with the curved members 58 after the scoop or shovel has been dumped and is being lowered to the ground. Fig. 4 of the drawings illustrates thel hopper thrown laterally in order to allow the scoop to lower to the ground. In order to hold said hopper in the proper position while the scoop is being dumped, the locki-ng bars 65 are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 66 and are pivotally connected by means of the bars 67 with the shaft 68 carried by the hpper 60.

The means for'imparting a lateral swinging movement to the boom 8 consists of the chains 70 which are connected each to the cross beam 71 upon either side of its pivotal point 7, said chains adapted to wind upon the drum 74 to which drum a worm wheel 75 is fixed which is in mesh with a worm 76 fastened to the shaft 77, having a hand wheel 78 for operating the same. The shaft 77 has a bearing eccentrically within the block 79, the latter having a circumferential bearing 80 turning in an annular groove 81 formed in the member 82. A hollow shaft 83, through which the shaft 71 passes,

,arms 12.

is fastened by means of a set screw 84 to the bearing block 79 and a hand wheel 85 serves as a means for rotating the hollow shaft 83, accordingly as it may be desired to throw the worm wheel 76 into or out of mesh with the worm wheel or worm'wheel 86, which latter is fixed to the shaft 87 mounted in suitable bearings upon the truck of the apparatus.

Chains 88 are fastened to the shaft 87 and are secured to the forward axle 89 of the truck and form-means for steering the craft when it is desired to move the apparatus under\its own power.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood and is as follows When the boom drops by gravity to the p0- sition shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the anchor spurs will engage the ground and securely hold the boom in the positions illustrated. By winding the cable 30 upon the drum 33, which drum is driven by the engine, the scoop will be drawn forward and receive its load. As the scoop approaches the curved arms 12, the scoop will be guided by means of the guards 40 so that the rollers 37 will come in contact with said curved A further forward movement imparted to the scoop will cause the shaft to which the curved arms and anchor spurs are secured to rock, thus disengaging` the same from the ground and a further pulling movement upon the cable 30 will cause the boom to swing upward and assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. As the scoop reaches its highest position, the crosspiece. 16 at the end of the boom will pass underneath the pivotal bars 65, which will hold the hopper60 in position to receive the load as it is released from the scoop. Simultaneously with the passage of the upper end of the hopper underneath the levers 65, the head of the member 52 will come in contact with the projections 18x upon the tower and cause the retaining slide 50 to move longitudinally against the tension of the spring 54 and which will release the end gate of the scoop and allow the load to be dumped.v

`swing laterally, as shown in Fig. 4, and out of the path of the scoop, allowing the latter to again lower by gravity to the ground to receive a new load. After the scoop reaches the ground, the boom swings down by gravity and the momentum of the vboom as it approaches the earth will cause the anchor meneer spurs to engage the ground and securely hold the same. lt will be noted that, when the scoop is drawn forward to receive its load, the sub-soil plow will loosen the material for the next load. ln the event of it being desired to cause the boom to swing laterally, it may be done through the medium of the hand wheel 78 and connections. By the provision of the hand wheel 85 and its connections, the forward axle of the truck may be turned in one direction 4or the other for the purpose of guiding the apparatus when it is driven under its own power from place to place, the engine mrving as means, through the belted connections shown,v for driving the rear axle of the truck. a

By the provision of an apparatus embodying the features of my invention, it will be noted that the operation is continuous by first drawing the scoop through the soil, elevating the same, lowering and dumping and again repeating through continuous cycles.

Vhat I claim to be new is 1. A ditching and excavating apparatus boom, tower and scoop, a winding drum, a cable passing about the latter and said pulle'ys, means upon the scoop for causing the same to engage said releasing members as the scoop approaches said members, the scoop and `boom adapted to be raised together to upright positions.

2. A ditching and excavating apparatus comprising a truck, a tower mounted thereon, a pivotal boom mounted upon the truck, means for swinging the boom, a rock shaft upon the latter, an anchor member fixed to said shaft, releasing arms projecting from the rock shaft, a scoop, arms projecting therefrom, a pulley mounted upon the latter, anti-friction rollers upon either side of the pulley, guard members adjacent to said rollers adapted to cause the rollers to contact with said releasing members as the scoop approaches the latter, pulleys upon the boom and tower, a winding drum, a cable passing about the same and said pulleys.

In testimony whereof l hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH PRONOVOST.

Witnesses:

`L. S. ROGERS,

H. C. CULLoM. 

